Backup strategy

Started by socrates, June 03, 2010, 10:52:25 AM

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socrates

Hi
I'm new to espionage and liking it very much so far. However, a little confused by backups etc.
Prior to espionage, I was backing up with both Time Machine & SuperDuper to separate hard drives on a once daily basis. I have read the backing up to Time Machine post but still have a few questions....

Is the main issue with Time Machine backups due to the locked/unlocked state of the relevant folder? For example, are there any disadvantages to using Time Machine to continue with backing up as usual, if the relevant folder is in the same state each time?

Does SuperDuper also handle things the same way?

What are the disadvantages to using the built in backup in espionage?
Can I backup to the same physical drives that I'm backing up to with TimeMachine and SuperDuper?

Thanks

greg

#1
Quote from: "socrates"Hi
I'm new to espionage and liking it very much so far.

Hi and welcome! That's great to hear. :-)

QuoteHowever, a little confused by backups etc.
Prior to espionage, I was backing up with both Time Machine & SuperDuper to separate hard drives on a once daily basis. I have read the backing up to Time Machine post but still have a few questions....

Is the main issue with Time Machine backups due to the locked/unlocked state of the relevant folder? For example, are there any disadvantages to using Time Machine to continue with backing up as usual, if the relevant folder is in the same state each time?

There are zero disadvantages to using Time Machine in addition to Espionage's backups, even if you're changing the state of the locked folder in between backups. The more backup paths you have, the better. :-)

QuoteDoes SuperDuper also handle things the same way?

SuperDuper works just fine with Espionage. :-)

QuoteWhat are the disadvantages to using the built in backup in espionage?

There are no disadvantages to using them! One thing they can't provide though is a backup history on their own, but you can get it by using Time Machine to backup the Espionage backup destination, or, if you use Dropbox, you can set the backup destination to be in there, and then you'll have a history and it will be backed up online.

QuoteCan I backup to the same physical drives that I'm backing up to with TimeMachine and SuperDuper?

Of course, but if you backup to Time Machine's drive then you won't be able to use Time Machine to backup Espionage's backups, just something to think about.

Cheers,
Greg, Tao Effect
Follow @espionageapp@twitter.com or @espionage@mstdn.io for news and updates!

socrates

#2
Thanks for responding.

Quote from: "greg"There are zero disadvantages to using Time Machine in addition to Espionage's backups, even if you're changing the state of the locked folder in between backups. The more backup paths you have, the better. :-)

Are there any issues then if I continue to backup once daily with Time Machine & SuperDuper with the encrypted folders in the same state each time?

Quote from: "greg"One thing they can't provide though is a backup history on their own, but you can get it by using Time Machine to backup the Espionage backup destination, or, if you use Dropbox, you can set the backup destination to be in there, and then you'll have a history and it will be backed up online.

How would I set this up? Set the espionage backup location to be on my internal Macbook drive and then ask Time Machine to back up this espionage backup?

greg

#3
Quote from: "socrates"Are there any issues then if I continue to backup once daily with Time Machine & SuperDuper with the encrypted folders in the same state each time?

No.

Quote from: "socrates"How would I set this up? Set the espionage backup location to be on my internal Macbook drive and then ask Time Machine to back up this espionage backup?

That's one way, except you don't really have to ask Time Machine to do anything, as by default it automatically backs up everything except those things you tell it not to. You can also plug in a second drive and have Espionage backup to there, and have Time Machine backup that second drive.
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socrates

#4
Thanks for your reply.

One more question. Will i be able to access different versions of a document that has been encrypted with espionage and backed up directly to Time Machine (with the relevant folder in the same locked state each time)?

Would it just be a case of unlocking the folder with espionage and then going back through the Time Machine history to select/restore the relevant document? Or is it more complicated than that?

greg

#5
Quote from: "socrates"One more question. Will i be able to access different versions of a document that has been encrypted with espionage and backed up directly to Time Machine (with the relevant folder in the same locked state each time)?

Would it just be a case of unlocking the folder with espionage and then going back through the Time Machine history to select/restore the relevant document? Or is it more complicated than that?

Restore the folder that you think has the copy of the document first, then unlock it with Espionage to check if that's the document you want. If that's not the one, disable the folder (as mentioned in the instructions), and repeat the process until you find what you're looking for.

Kind regards,
Greg, Tao Effect
Follow @espionageapp@twitter.com or @espionage@mstdn.io for news and updates!

socrates

#6
Hi
Thanks for the response. Still trying to get my head round the whole backup/restore possibilities.

You mentioned above that I could set Dropbox to be the backup destination of the espionage built in backup facility. Will this be secure? I read in this blog that Dropbox does not provide end-to-end encryption. Will this be an issue if I just set the backup destination of espionage backups to be my dropbox folder?

I have quite a lot of space on my mobileme idisk, can I set this to be the backup destination?

greg

#7
Quote from: "socrates"You mentioned above that I could set Dropbox to be the backup destination of the espionage built in backup facility. Will this be secure? I read in this blog that Dropbox does not provide end-to-end encryption. Will this be an issue if I just set the backup destination of espionage backups to be my dropbox folder?

The folders are backed up encrypted, you can backup to Dropbox just fine.

QuoteI have quite a lot of space on my mobileme idisk, can I set this to be the backup destination?

You can try, but we do not recommend it as in the past we noticed some stability issues with the Finder with that. However, that was many versions ago, so the situation might have improved. I would recommend using Dropbox instead however.
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socrates

#8
Hi

Sorry to bring this up again....

Can the backup destination (for espionage's built in backups) be on the main internal Macbook hard drive- i.e. the one where the Espionage folders are located in the first place?

Just wondering if I could do the above, and then ask TimeMachine to backup my hard drive- excluding my espionaged folders but including the espionage backups? Or will this cause problems?

Also, do the espionage backups take up the same size as the sparsebundle or are they the size that the sparsebundle might grow to (i.e the maximum size)

greg

#9
Quote from: "socrates"Can the backup destination (for espionage's built in backups) be on the main internal Macbook hard drive- i.e. the one where the Espionage folders are located in the first place?

Yes.

QuoteJust wondering if I could do the above, and then ask TimeMachine to backup my hard drive- excluding my espionaged folders but including the espionage backups? Or will this cause problems?

Nope, you can do that, and it's a recommended strategy in fact.

QuoteAlso, do the espionage backups take up the same size as the sparsebundle or are they the size that the sparsebundle might grow to (i.e the maximum size)

The backups should be identical in size to the originals.
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